With the passing of time, both the dawn and the golden age of the internet are both long since things of the past. Much like the expiration of early automobiles, collectors have found outrageous value in clinging to the past, and AOL startup discs are no exception. This week, Todd Farmer of West Chester, PA, sold his mint-condition AOL 1.0 startup disc for over $9,000 in an online auction.

Todd Farmer knew he was sitting on gold, but he'd been sitting on it a good long time.

Mr. Farmer explains, "that disc served me well. It's a 5 1/2" floppy, double-sided, double-density with all the original packaging. This bad boy wasn't free for me or anybody back then, so I wasn't about to throw it away."

Mrs. Farmer sings as different a tune as the contrarian ballad she's always harped. "He's had that stupid thing framed and hanging in the front room ever since before I knew him, and we've been married eight years. I kept trying to sneak it in to the trash, but he kept fishing it back out. I guess the last laugh's on me, we're going to Hawaii now."

Other top selling internet collectibles in recent months include:

An autographed photo of a young Steve Jobs, signed, "Your man for the Jobs", sold for $915.

The only known paper stock certificates for Microsoft in existence, sold for $24.17 per share.

A chair ostensibly stolen from AOL corporate headquarters, sold for an unbelievable $36, fully $8 over and above fair market value.

Savvy collectors are strongly encouraged to do as they're able to gather and hoard AOL startup discs, if not for their tremendous current practical value, then for their obvious future value to historians and web weirdos alike.